Recently, I heard one of the best lines about coconut oil “Always have three jars- one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen and one for the bedroom.” Meghan Telphner is brilliant. Simply brilliant.
Seeing as coconut oil is so affordable, readily available and completely natural I use it for everything. I just bought a 5 gallon container of it. True story. And, yes, I have three jars. Coconut oil is just so multifunctional that everyone should have a jar or two or three handy. The possibilities are endless when it comes to coconut oil.
Top Uses For Coconut Oil
There are a gazillion uses for coconut oil, but I narrowed it down to 20.
- Deodorant: It can be used alone or mixed with a few other ingredients for a simple DIY deodorant.
- Lip Balm: During those cold winters, use coconut oil as a lip balm or throw a few ingredients together and make a fancier version.
- Exfoliator: Add some coconut oil to some sugar and now you have an exfoliating sugar scrub.
- Lotion: Whip with shea butter and a few other ingredients to make shea butter scrub—it looks fancy.
- Homemade Toothpaste: this is on my personal to-do list. (find the recipe here)
- Sunscreen: Many homemade sunscreen recipes (find the recipe here) use coconut oil because it naturally has an SPF of 4.
- Pink-Eye: I remember reading somewhere that applying coconut oil to the affected area can help to heal pink-eye.
- Eye Make-Up Remover: The only way I remove make-up is with coconut oil.
- Oil Pulling: For gum health.
- Hair Conditioner: Apply it all over your head and massage into the scalp. Leave for 30 minutes or more. Shampoo and rinse. You may need to shampoo and rinse more than once.
- Diaper Cream: Use as a cloth diaper safe cream. Just generously apply it to the bum area and voila! Nice, smooth and rash-free bottom.
- Cradle Cap: Simply massage it into the head, leave for a few minutes and gently rinse with a warm cloth.
- Moisturizer: It makes for a great full body moisturizer.
- Lubrication: It's an all-natural, perfectly safe personal lubricant. Not compatible with latex.
- Cooking: It's great because it has a high smoke point.
- Baking: I use it for all my baking needs.
- Smoothies: Add to a smoothie for a nutritional boost.
- Homemade Chocolate: Have you ever made your own chocolate? Coconut oil is one of the 3 ingredients in this recipe. It's seriously so easy and the best tasting chocolate.
- Popcorn Topping: Enjoy some freshly popped organic popcorn as a snack and toss with coconut oil as a topping instead of butter.
- Removes Labels on Jars: Run warm water over your jar and rub with coconut oil to remove those labels.
Anything to add to the list? Tell me—what do you use coconut oil for?
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